The Art Of Forgiving
by DanielKhatib
Summary: The Winchester Boys received a call from Nick Fury, asking them to join The Avengers. SHIELD is having the group of SuperHeroes, Assassins and Hunters under their command now. And they are ready to fight their next battle, against a new one-of-a-kind enemy. A tale of Honesty, friendship and deception
1. Chapter 1

Dean was excited to finally meet Captain America. He radiated excitement that Sam could feel, and he let himself soak in his good mood. Dean ran his hand over his short-cropped light brown hair, then pinched the area under his bottom lip. That was usually the sign of being nervous, Sam could tell. But who wouldn't be in his position? After all, he was about to meet his all-time favorite Avenger.

A loud song with a thumping beat rang from Dean's pocket. He gave Sam a goofy grin and began to shake his head back and forth, then he broke into his ringtone dance, shoulders bouncing and hips moving from side to side.

"Oh, please don't," Sam begged, pressing his lips.

People around them stared at him in amusement and one of the guys started cheering for him.

"Dude, are you in your right mind?"

"Chill. I'm trying to chill, Sammy."

When the ringtone was about to end, Dean picked up, "We're waiting for entrance."

"There's a dark-skinned man waiting for you. He will escort you inside," the voice on the phone spoke.

"Awesome," Dean hang up.

The Stark Tower was a high-rise building complex. The structure was composed of a 93-story Main Tower flanked by a 35-story South Building and 55-story North Building. The Main Tower was informally known as the Avengers Tower, it served as the headquarters for the superheroes; Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, The Hulk and Hawkeye. And recently added to the A-list's residence Loki.

He was still imprisoned in the newly designed cage, it was his punishment for nearly destroying earth. Since Odin had refused to accept him in Asgard and Thor didn't want to abandon him, he had promised the Avengers that he'd be responsible for Loki and his actions.

Since the first day of imprisonment, Loki hadn't talked with anyone, it was like he had been cut out of the real world and started living in his own.

"Captain America, Sammy! Captain America," Dean said enthusiastically.

"Dr. Sexy and now Captain America," Sam sighed.

"Aren't you excited, not even a tiny bit?" Dean asked.

"I am, Dean. But I'm also terrified. We're gonna see Loki," Sam answered but Dean simply ignored him and continued walking.

"Oh, the Winchesters, finally!" Nick Fury greeted the boys.

"Hello, Sir," Sam said.

"I hope the ride from Texas to here was comfortable for the both of you."

"Of course it was. Stark's plane, man!" Dean grinned.

Nick let out a slight laugh. "Here it is. Make yourself comfortable. The Avengers will be shortly here, they're on a mission at the moment."

"Thank you," Sam said.

"But beware," Nick was whispering now, "don't get too close to Loki."

"We won't," Dean assured him. "Right, Sam?"

Dean's head shot over to Sam, a confused look marking his face before he slowly nodded. "Right."

The silent and fearsome Loki stared away from the bed and fixed his piercing eyes on Sam. Sam's gaze met his, and for a moment, he was motionless. There was something confusing about Loki's facial expressions, they were ominous and honest at the same time.

Their shared gaze was severed as the door banged open and the Avengers entered the room. Thor rushed in, followed by Natasha and Clint and the rest of them behind.

Dean leaped off the couch and stood in a mannered way, trying to hold back his excitement.

"Hello boys!" Tony spoke.

"H.. Hi, sir," Dean grinned.

"Hello, Mr. Stark," Sam greeted him.

Tony walked past Dean who was expecting to shake hands with the Man of Iron. Sam already told Dean about every Avenger's personality as he had heard from endless magazines and newspapers articles. And Dean's felt to be close to Tony Stark's playboy personality.

"Aye, boys!" Thor greeted them with a wide smile as he crossed the kitchen to grab snacks from the fridge.

Natasha and Clint separated themselves and went to the other room alone, not really paying attention to the presence of the two brothers.

"Oh, my. Hold me Sammy. Hold me," Dean said at the sight of Captain America entering the room.

Steve's eyes were lain at Sam and Dean as he was fixing his suit. "Winchesters, welcome," he said, removing his gaze from them over to the wound on his chest. "Crap!"

"Captain America, you're my favorite Avenger!" Dean burst out into his fanboying verse and immediately was pinched by Sam, it was a pinch to indicate Dean to stay calm. He cleared his throat and clinched his jaw. "Yeah. Hi Steve."

The pause was long and weighty before Steve finally said. "Appreciated, you're my favorite as well!"

Dean was dying of excitement and overwhelmed by the welcoming he had received. "Thank you! You heard of us?" he asked.

"Of course. SHIELD has kept track of you recently, and you saved the world once, can't be more appreciative."

"Just like you did," Sam pointed out.

Tony crossed the room. "Chick flick moment alert." And went to pour some scotch, offering the Winchesters one as well. "It's rare, have a sip," he extended his arm, giving the glass to Dean.

Dean dropped his firm gaze from Steve, a kind of admiration gaze. He was such a fanboy!

As the trio consisting of Tony, Steve and Dean were having a conversation, Dean kept on mentioning how much he appreciated the chance to be here while Sam pulled back and went to the kitchen and joined Thor.

"Aye, Sam.. right?" Thor chewed the last bite of the sandwich he was holding. "Yes. Thor, if I may call you like that-"

"Of course you can, Sam. We're all a family now. Nick told us about your heroism and the sacrifices you have made for this world, so we're a family," Thor grinned putting his hand on Sam's shoulder.

Sam blushed slightly. He was finally getting the appreciation they had lacked over the years for saving the whole humanity, and he wasn't used to it, at all. He didn't even know what to say except of a murmured "Thank you!"

"Yeah, what I was saying earlier Thor, can you tell me more about your brother Loki? I'm just curious, you know. If you have no problem, of course," Sam asked politely.

Thor clinched his jaw and a mix of anger and despair lingered before his eyes as he spoke, "Aye.. aye, sure. What do you want to know?"

"He was your brother, why did all of this happen?"

"Aye.. I'll tell you why. Loki is exceptional, unique. He has the kind of personality that draws others in. I wanted to hear everything he had to say, but not everyone was like me. Lady Sif said that he gave her a bad feeling. She thought that he was much of a man who wanted to stand out so brightly, and that he was a liar, trying to impress my father to get the throne. It was the only thing we ever disagreed on."

"So in your opinion, he wasn't trying to steal your place?" Sam asked confused.

"No! My whole life.. I misunderstood my brother. All he wanted was the approval of my father, that's it. But instead, he was seen as a liar. He made special weapons and he had a big part in keeping Asgard with strong defenses, but my father's allies were always warning him and reminding him that he was the adopted son and that he had magical powers that only a few people could face, by that, the coldness in the relationship between my father and Loki stretched and he was never pleased by him. But he was pleased with me when I slayed some monsters here and there…" Thor trailed off, his eyes blurring in pain.

Sam noticed his pain and wanted to tell him to stop, but he felt that Thor had to let it all out, so he kept quiet.

"So, I started going to meetings that consisted of Loki, Lady Sif and the warriors three, to hear what Loki had to say. They were secret meetings, Loki said it was for the sake of keeping Asgard safe. He was, and is, the master of deception. He would glorify Odin's work and the work of the realm, and then sneak in one backhanded comment to leave us pondering. Like me, Loki pretended to dislike Odin's strategy in his relations with Jotunheim. He always wanted to destroy that race."

"So, I don't get it, what made him so vengeful?"

"Living in the shadow of his own brother, of me, being lied to his whole life, and waiting for Odin's approval that never happened."

"That's not a reason to bring the apocalypse on earth," Sam snapped. Shortly after, he realized that he was being rude. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"I don't think we can judge a person before being in his shoes. But I understand what you mean, Sam."

"What happened when you went back to Asgard after his failure on earth?"

"We-"

Natasha cut off their conversation as she entered the kitchen. "Wanna have some fun, boys? We have a new enemy attack."

She grabbed her black tight jacket that was put on one of the armchairs and disappeared without waiting for a response.

"I guess I should go. I will tell you the rest later, my friend. You have my word," Thor smiled before disappearing himself and leaving Sam behind.

"Can I try the armor, please?" Dean asked.

"Yes, sure," Steve nodded.

Dean grabbed the armor and started checking himself in the mirror, making funny moves and facial expressions. "Phew, it's heavy!"

"Yeah, it is."

Dean was trying so hard to start a conversation with him but Steve seemed to be all-attention drawn to boxing the fuck out of the boxing bag (and not at all interested in talking to Dean.)

"Captain, get ready, we have an enemy waiting to be spider-squished," Natasha said, appearing next to them.

"Yes! Finally I can see you fighting with my own eyes," Fanboy Dean took over.

"No way! You're not leaving this tower, Dean," Steve said firmly.

"Oh come on, dude!"

"Nick didn't tell you? You are here to keep an eye on Loki, while we're away. You were the most qualified people to have this mission on your shoulders. You are the best-"

"-after us," Tony said.

"-in this department," Steve finished his line.

...

Two huge, comfortable couches were placed in front of Loki's new cage, at a safe distance. Dean slept, while Sam kept on searching through the internet about The Norse Mythology. Section - Loki.

A wild sly curled Loki's lips.


	2. Shape Of God, Soul Of Glass

Chapter 2:

Sam's eyes were fixed on Loki as he was sleeping, a hard piercing gaze Sam usually had when he examined someone. Loki had his black hair pulled back and it was long enough to reach his shoulders. A small scar orientated on his nose and on a part of his left cheek, the scar that was an instant reminder of Loki's deeds. He was dressed in his usual green cape.

Sam spent the whole night reading about Loki, Thor and the whole Nine Realms mythologies, and what he finished was just a slight amount of it.

"Morning," Natasha mumbled, entering the room.

"Oh, good morning, Natasha."

"What are you doing up this early?"

"I couldn't sleep," Sam said dryly.

"Hmm," she simply nodded and then went to the kitchen to get the mug that JARVIS used to set up to prepare the coffee at 6 a.m. for Natasha and Clint. Sam followed her.

"Hey, why do you keep Loki in cage? I mean, why doesn't he get a room?" Sam asked.

"Maybe because he tried to destroy our world and all the people with it?"

"Well yeah, but now Thor has promised to keep an eye on him, I don't think you should imprison him like this. It's inhuman," Sam pointed out.

"Killing thousands of innocent people is inhuman, Sam. Besides, he is not even human," Natasha's tone was firm.

Sam's images of being imprisoned in Bobby's iron-made cell popped before his eyes, and he couldn't control it. The days he had spent alone and the hallucinations he had had were enough to let the madness of his inner demons kick in and take control over him again and again, they would make him beg, shout and cry. They would niggle his head, create an itching fever at the back of his eyes and make his blood boil. He remembered the screams his throat had released, the weakness of his knees. But all of this didn't, no it couldn't, compare to the pain of his guilt that ate his insides out.

There is one good thing about physical pain; it ends, unlike emotional pain. That weight that his heart would carry forever. Nothing and no one could ever change that. What was done was done. The damage would always stay with him, would always linger. An instant memory and yellow stain in his mind.

Sam slowly swum back to the surface of the reality. "Yeah, but you won't get any information from him if you keep treating him like that, like an prisoner. Just saying."

Natasha frowned before she said with a deep sigh. "I guess you're right. We must know who gave him the army, I'll talk to Stark."

"Good. I'll go get some sleep now," Sam said.

Clint came out of the bathroom with nothing on but a towel around his waist and immediately walked over to Natasha and grabbed her by her shoulders, kissing her neck, slowly and tenderly.

"Good morning," Natasha giggled.

"Morning gorgeous," Clint grinned whilst pressing another kiss to her forehead.

"Coffee?" Natasha offered.

Clint put away the glass of coffee she had offered him and grabbed her hand so his fingers filled the spaces between hers, and with his other hand he grabbed her butt. And he soak himself into kissing her lips. Natasha grinned while kissing him back, holding a lot more force in it this time. "Mhmmm," she moaned against his sweaty lips.

"Stop. Not here Clint," she giggled pointing at Sam and Dean.

He grabbed and lifted her on one shoulder carrying her with him back to the bathroom. Then he locked the door behind him.

Natasha was getting hot as Clint started to take off her clothes rapidly, and she took off his towel with one hand while the other was around his head. They engaged in another steamy kiss, their lips crashed and tongues fused in a collaborated movements. An itching fire caused by the sensation of their bodies touching, raced through both of their veins.

Something hard was rubbing Natasha's thigh now, she smiled widely and knelt down slowly, kissing his nipples all the way down to his abs and finally to his cock, kissing its head.

"Ah, fuck!" Clint groaned.

Natasha was deep throating him, it felt good, sensational, the euphoria spread through his body. Her pace became faster and his moans increased. He grabbed her hair and pushed her head deep to his cock, then pulled her up again to kiss her, he just couldn't resist Natasha's enticing and beautiful lips.

She loved how he took the wheel.

He turned her around while she put her hands on the wall for support, and he started rubbing his cock against her vagina. "Put it in," she whispered, her eyes closed.

He put his cock in her and wild moans were let out of her throat.

He began slowly, patiently, moving his hips against her butt and through her moans, he could hear the slamming sound.

Natasha's removed one hand off the wall and grabbed Clint's butt, squashing it and feeling as it moved back and forth, "Yes. Fuck yes."

Clint started to sweat and his pace quickened as his cock went deeper causing wilder moans. "Ugh, fuck," Clint shouted.

"Woah, woah, woah, guys. Not in the bathroom!" Stark shouted from outside the bathroom. "And use condoms, I don't want little assassin kiddos running around my residence," he added.

But they simply ignored him and carried on.

Dean woke up at the sound of loud rock music playing around the room. He stood up on his feet, trying to stabilize the sight through his blurry eyes. He rubbed them and went over to the fridge to get himself some pie. Tony's fridge had everything, literally everything.

Pie was probably the first main reason Dean was happy to stay here as much as he was asked for.

"Metallica. Awesome right?" Tony said whilst blabbing on the phone with Pepper.

Dean nodded.

Turning his head he saw Loki's cage, only Loki wasn't in it.

"What the fuck! Where is-"

"Chill. We moved him to his own room, I'll tell you everything later. I gotta run," Tony said, already being half out of the room.

"Sure," Dean said, confusion marking his eyes.

Dean was feeling lonely. Tony was the only one to keep him company, but most of the time he was away anyway. Clint and Natasha were like the loving birds, they only had time for each other. Bruce was in his laboratory while Steve was with Nick Fury all the time and Thor had returned to Asgard earlier that day. He had promised to come back in a matter of few days, apparently it was something urgent that had to be taken care of.

"Hey, Dean. What are you up to?" Steve asked.

"Nothing."

"I need you to help me with the boxing bags. They are just too many, and I have to see Nick Fury in a few minutes," Steve asked gently.

"Yeah, sure!" Dean grinned widely at the thought of helping his favorite Avenger.

Loki had found himself alone in the bathroom, naked in front of the mirror. There, on the shiny surface, was his body and his face. He knew now who he was – he knew that if there was something he had to prove, then he had to prove it first to himself. Above all he knew what he wanted to do now.

He took a deep breath and stared at his reflection in the mirror again. "I am God," he said.

"I AM GOD!" his fist hit the mirror and it broke into thousands of pieces. A tear rolled down his cheek mixing with the water drops in the sink.

When he got out, he saw Sam sitting at the edge of his bed. He immediately stood up and his head went giddy, adrenaline raced through his body, and his muscles began to ache.

_That what it's like being near a Go__d,_he thought to himself.

"What are you doing here?" Loki asked.

"I wanna talk to you and get to know you, after all we're living under the same roof."

"Why? What do you need?"

"You know, Loki, I had a father like yours. He never loved me the way he loved my brother – Dean. I don't blame him, I was, still am a monster-"

"You know nothing about monsters."

Sam continued ignoring him, "-I brought the Apocalypse, because I chose a demon over my own brother. I betrayed everyone," he took a deep breath. "But there is this thing, Loki. It's called Redemption. It might take a lifetime, but I'm willing to seek it. In your situation, you're luckier than me. You're immortal. You still have the chance to make things right, Loki."

"Get out," Loki seethed.

"Can't you see how people around you care about you, why can't you see it? I was in your situation once. My brother Dean, he saved me.And Thor, he's trying to do the exact same for you now! He wants to save from yourself!" Sam's tone began to get louder.

Loki frowned. "Why do you care so much? You barely even know me."

"See Loki, that's where you're wrong," Sam said. "I know you better than anyone here, I know you because you are me. You are that phase of my life that I hated so much, and no matter what I do, no matter what I try to accomplish, I will never get over it. The choices I did once, I can never take them back."

"Or maybe you're just here waiting for me to soften up and give you whatever you want from me! Everybody hates me, cause I'm above them. I'm a God, you little human!" Loki shouted. "GET OUT!" He shouted again, his face slowly starting to turn blue and his eyes hell-ish red.

Sam shuddered and got up and left, trying to stay still on his feet.

A sound of cracking and breaking glass followed from Loki's room.

_Thursday 12__th__, July._

_He refused to talk to me. Just like I did once with Dean. I will save him. I MUST save him. Maybe that will serve in my sought of redemption._

_End Entry._


	3. Nightmares

Chapter 3: Nightmares.

Steve was sure about one thing; Happiness can be malicious.  
To him, Happiness meant changing a part of his behavior and losing his identity, because all his life he didn't experience it truly.  
Sometimes, we think that we're not worthy the gracious things that happen to us. We don't accept it, because if we do, we'll get the feeling of being in debt to God.  
We think; It is better not to taste the cup of happiness, cause if we'll do, we'll suffer the bitterness at its worst levels once the cup is empty.

In fear to get younger, we forget to grow older.

In fear of crying, we forget to laugh.

Steve smiled at the quote framed on the wall of his room. He turned and walked over to the glass wall, he could see the world through it perfectly. His gaze spoke his mind –Happiness.

Was he happy? Maybe.  
Adapting to live in future wasn't hard. He loved the technology, the new high buildings, the LCD TV screens, mobile phones, extravagant five-starred planes, all of it was good. It made his life much easier, and he was lucky to have the chance to witness it.

"Hey Steve," Dean said.

"Dean, hello. I'm sorry I kept you waiting, let's go."

On their way down in the elevator, an awkward silence stretched between them. And Steve felt uncomfortable so he spoke, "Did Nick tell you the details of your job?"

"Um, nope. What is it?" Dean asked.

"Weird. SHIELD did a research on our potential enemy. Three of its members were killed mysteriously. Two of them were from NASA and the third, is one of the most highly-trained soldiers."

"Wow.. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I thought Nick did. SHIELD is keeping this info as a secret though. So, I hope your tongue doesn't slip when we're there," Steve said.

"Yeah, sure."

"And they think it's a work of a demon. They didn't share any further information with Nick Fury."

"That's why you called on us. Makes sense," Dean was talking to himself now.

Elevator's door opened and they saw Tony sitting quietly.  
As they came closer they could see his pale face as he drank his scotch.

Without looking them in the eye, "Nick Fury is dead," he said.

An unusual silence spread around the room. How the words were twisted backwards into their throats as they tried to speak. Their bodies tensed, a grieving kind of tension. They didn't know him well, but they sure as hell were happy to have had him as a leader.

"How?" Steve's tone was at its lowest.

"Same shit. They found him dead in his bed, his blood was everywhere," Tony struggled talking.

Tony wasn't close to Nick either. He was now more scared about his own safety, and the safety of his team. After all, the victims had been all powerful and well trained.

"Who the fuck is doing this?" Tony seethed through his gritted teeth. In anger, he threw his glass of scotch on the floor and it blew into several pieces.

"Are there any clues? Steve told me it might be a demon," Dean said.

"Yes."

"Well, that's where our part comes. You did the right thing to call us," Dean soothed. "I'll call Sammy. You get Nick's body, we have to see it for ourselves," he added.

Dim lights of the streets lamps only blurred her vision as her feet tried to recognize the asphalt she was running on. Gasping with tears in her eyes, she sought her way out of the killer's sight.

The footsteps behind her slowly faded. So, she ran into a shadowed narrowed pathway, hiding under escape-stairs. And she took a deep breath, trying to extinguish her cries.

Maria couldn't stay there, it was too dangerous. The killer's eyes would find her in a slight fraction of seconds. She had to run, hide, anything or death would be her last destination. Maria was 15 years old. _Too young and incapable to keep her mouth shut, _as the killer had said.

Maria saw her father getting killed, and now she was the next target on their list. Her father had been a drug dealer and her life had been all about moving from one city to another. No friends, no family and most importantly; no safety. 

Natasha woke up from that nightmare, breathing hard and sweating.

She didn't have the courage to tell Maria that it had been her who killed her father?. And now, every time they were together in a room, Natasha would remain silent, eyes downcast. _My past is haunting me, _she would cry on the inside.

A cold-blooded assassin. Spy. Killer. How many nights she had wished to erase that from her vocabulary. Killing Maria was an order from a higher person, someone far above her. She couldn't protest, the job had to be done. As Valek, the head of the organization, said they couldn't risk to uncover their identity at any costs.

Anyway, They have never found Maria again.

"You must stop torturing yourself, Nat. Everything is okay now. Look around you, we all are okay. You didn't do anything wrong, you're out of this stupid organization, and you have us… you have me," Clint soothed.

Natasha wept onto his shoulder as her fingers brushed through his chestnut brown hair.

"Go back to sleep," Clint kissed her forehead.

A knock on the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry guys, but Tony wants to speak with us all. We're meeting upstairs," Sam said.

"Yeah, okay. Give us a moment," Clint replied.

At the top of the tower, the Avengers were all gathered together. Natasha and Clint sat on the couch, holding hands. Steve was leaning onto the door frame, Tony stood at the bar and Bruce was still in the laboratory with the Winchesters, analyzing Nick's corpse.

"Winchesters, you got anything?" Tony asked as they entered the room.

"Apparently, Nick scratched himself to death. The skin fractions under his nails say so," Bruce entered the room a bit late, holding papers in his hand, interrupting Tony.

"What?" Tony exclaimed.

"Yeah, that was my reaction."

"It's obvious! Someone controlled his dream," Dean said. "We already dealt with this one," he added.

"Yes. He must have drunk something, and whoever did that, gained control over his dreams. Makes sense," Sam clarified.

"Jarvis, call Maria and tell her to give us access to all the cameras inside their building," Tony rushed out of the room.

The tension got higher as Loki came into the room. His face was pale, as always, his black hair lifted backwards and he wore a pair of white pants and a blue shirt. Without saying a word, he approached the bar and purred himself a drink. Everyone knew that he wasn't there to drink. He was there to gather information.

"Hey, Loki," Sam greeted.

Loki threw him a glance without saying a word.

"What is _that_ doing here!" Clint seethed through his teeth.

"That is still a person, Clint. He got his own room. Get over it," Sam sounded annoyed.

A tiny feeling tingled in Loki's chest, and he wanted to smile at someone defending him, but his pride was more powerful.

The chains pierced through Dean's body. There was no voice left in him to scream, beg, or cry. He was clinging to his sanity, trying to close his eyes at the merciless sight, but his eyes kept opening at the screams of the tortured people. Burning flames, wicked laughs and screams of the damned. That was Dean's personal hell.

He remembered the whip in his hand. The scars it left on their bodies, his blank eyes, their tears, the blood splattering around, the sweat falling off of his forehead.

And, he remembered himself finding to enjoy doing it.

"Dean, wake up. Wake up!" Sam was shaking him.

Dean didn't wake up.

"Wake up! Dean, hey listen to me. It's me Sam, wake up."

Dean gasped, leaping off from Sam's hands. Sam breathed heavily, his muscles relaxed and he took a few more breaths.

Dean's chest was wounded. More of a random scratches. Looking at his own hands, Dean noticed the blood stains under his nails.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"What the hell is this?" Dean looked at his chest. "Fuck. It hurts!"

Sam frowned. "It looks like Nick's, a bit less severe."

Sam got up, he was nervous now. Thousands of thoughts passed his mind in a speed of light, and he failed to catch a single one and settle on it.

"I'll call Bruce, he'll take care of your wound," Sam said as he left the room, leaving Dean alone.

After a brief moment, Steve was there with Dean.

"What the hell happened?"

"I dunno. I woke up like this," Dean murmured.

"Dreaming of hell did harm you," Steve said sarcastically.

"How the hell you know about…"

"Shhh," Steve's right thumb pressed on Dean's jugular vein, and the blood stopped flowing to his brain. Meanwhile, his other hand pressed on a particular point near his armpit, causing the muscles to seize up. And just like that, Dean had gone into sleep again.

Thor had been busy for the last couple of days settling truces with Muspellheim, the Land of Fire. Odin ordered him to travel, because his health condition didn't allow him to do it by himself, and the only one Odin trusted with things like this was his dear beloved son, Thor.

The road to Muspellheim was dangerous. It was a realm of unspeakable heat, quenchless fires, and overhung with clouds of black ashes and fiery sparks. In midst of its blinding heat, sat Surtur, guarding the kingdom of fire with his flaming sword. He had been described thus:

"Surtur with his fiery sword,

A creature of eternal flame,

Muspellheim is his ward,

In end of time, the nine worlds bane."

Thor had to meet Surtur. It would be their first time seeing each other. Surtur had longed for this for thousands of years, saying to his father Odin. "Your son will visit me one day, and I shall meet the God of Thunder."

Surtur's obsession was to take over the nine realms - just like the prophecy had said that at the end of time, Muspellheim would be the only realm left - And he had decided to start with Asgard, but the endless truces delayed his anticipated goal. The truces were carried with extraordinary prizes that Surtur couldn't refuse.

Surtur was armed with a mighty sword which said: "Shines brightly burning more intensely than the sun."

And, ruling his many sons, the destroyers of worlds, Gods and men – he was invincible.

One thing that Thor didn't understand was what would keep such a strong enemy from attacking Asgard and taking over it in a blink of an eye? Whatever it was, he was happy for it.

The gates of the fire palace finally opened after a long wait. Thor had his body burning from heat and his eyes were red.

The fire guardians were three meters tall, carrying swords in their huge hands.

"Oh, Son of Odin, welcome to the Land of Fire. I hope the heat did not bother your majesty," Surtur leered.

"Hello, Lord Of Fire. I'm here on behalf of my father. He could not make it, he has to rest in bed," Thor spoke. "Here's the truce," he added, revealing a white marble stone. Thor couldn't see what was written on it, but he handed it over to Surtur anyway. After a few moments, Surtur smiled and said. "Very interesting. You can tell your father that I agree."

"I shall return to my father with your response."

"Oh, please. Have a drink, you have just arrived," Surtur said.

"No, thank you. I have brother problems, I better go," Thor regretted his words the second they had left his mouth. Surtur shouldn't know the details, it was never a good sign.

Surtur cocked his head towards Thor a little bit, who was standing beneath his blazing royal chair.

"Brother as in your dear brother Loki?"

"Yes," Thor sighed under his breath.

"I doubt your father told you about the truce then," Surtur laughed.

"What?"

"He's sacrificing Loki, his disgraced son, to me to keep his land safe."

Thor's eyes filled themselves with madness.


	4. Confessions of the God of Mischief

Chapter 4:

Book Loki:

You couldn't imagine the hatred I had for myself. The moment I knew that I was a monster. A cold-blooded monster. Cursed for eternity. What hurt me most was what Odin had done; he had kept it a secret from me for my whole life. I used to run around and battle with Thor, and I could see Odin's face, how his eyes were fixed on Thor. Whenever Thor won, he would make it seem like a huge accomplishment. Whenever I did, he would leave his seat in silence. I should have known that there was something wrong, something… hideous about me.

When I looked in the mirror, I saw the scars of my past as a lingering ghost behind me. I was mistreated. Disgraced, thrown into the pit of shame. There had to be a time where I rose above that hatred and shame. There had to be a time where had been the master of my choices and decisions. There had to be a time where Odin paid for his deeds.

A lot might think that I should be grateful that he even adopted me in the first place. Why?

So I could live in this beautiful place known as Asgard with those beautiful people, when deep on the inside I was a monster? And so I would never have the chance to stand out of the crowd? So I would never have the chance to make my "father" proud?

I tried once to do it for him. I destroyed my own race. I turned against my brother, Thor. And what did I get?

Absolutely nothing except a "No, Loki."

Well, my dear father, it was my time to say "No, Odin."

That was the moment I decided to rule Midgard. I am not even sure anymore if I did it out of my unconscious mind that wanted to show him so badly that I could do something powerful and that I wasn't just that naïve boy who lived in his brother's shade.

Once again, I had failed.

Oh, what a failure I was. A God humiliated by a bunch of humans. Those nasty creatures who would sell their own family for money, who would kill in the name of religion, who would put their pleasures before their manners. Being here, in Midgard, I only explored human's nature more closely. And I'm glad that I hadn't been wrong about them.

Clint and Natasha, who killed without blinking an eye. They killed people because of orders. They didn't bother to question who they were supposed to kill. Or the family of the one they were going to kill. Or why. It was an easy job for them. Receive an order. Find him. Pull the trigger.

I couldn't see how they were any better than me.

But I guessed for every rule there was an exception. Sam was the exception for the human race. I could see it in his eyes - the man who lived to tell the tale of endless pain and unbearable suffering. Something I knew very well. But I couldn't simply trust him and give in, telling him everything I knew about the Nightmare. I just couldn't. I had a deal, and I was intending to keep it. Nightmare had made me promises of Asgard and Midgard. That was all I had craved ever since. Nightmare refused to tell me about the man that commanded him, but I didn't care. All I cared for was the revenge. Revenge. Revenge. Revenge.

But then came Sam and actually talked to me, and he crashed my perfectly built world of future visions and plans for my kingdoms. Crashed them with his words. They weren't just words randomly thrown to calm me down or the words that pulled information that he needed out of my throat. They were sincere.

Ha. Someone actually cared about me, and it was a total stranger. I guess it is true what people say, one tends to accept strangers as they are, but one doesn't accept the changes in someone they already know. Pitiful world, pitiful humans.

He had changed something. I didn't dream of ruling the worlds anymore. That feeling of greatness, that had always filled me, had disappeared. Instead, I was filled with weird feelings; I couldn't really explain them, maybe because I had never experienced them before. Maybe it was something people call care… or maybe even Love? I had had my moment of doubt when I wanted to throw it all away and just reveal Nightmare's plan to the Avengers, but then again, as I always had been misunderstood, they would accuse me of betraying them again. Ignoring the fact that I just told them everything.

It wasn't the time for being sensitive and gaining my emotional side back, it had died a long time ago, together with Odin's disapproval. Nightmare was counting on me, because I was a shape shifter and it would be easy for me to disguise in any Avenger meat suit and get them the others to sleep, so Nightmare would continue his part of the job. Killing them.

Nightmare was a Class Three demon, who influenced the dreams of living beings as they were sleeping, feeding on humanity's psychic energies in particular. Nightmare occasionally singled out souls for special tortures, sometimes trapping their dream-selves in his realm. This time, those souls were the Avengers.

One thing I was curious about was why the Avengers? He had his own realm and was a ruler of his own world. Was it in a sought of absorbing the entire waking world into his realm? And did he think starting off with Avengers wouldn't be bad as they were known to be the strongest? Too many questions confused me. And when I had asked him his only answer was, "That's what my master wants."

I doubted that. No one simply did things without hidden purposes.

I hesitated about Dean though. He was Sam's brother and I didn't want to lose the only person that actually wanted to reach out for me. So I enchanted him. He would be asleep, Nightmare would come for him, but he'd fail to kill him. And I would just convince him to move to the others while I figure out what was wrong. Perfect plan. Extending time to get to know Sam better.

I had pushed him away the first time; it had been essential. I couldn't let him feel like I was a miserable person who was waiting for a slightest spark of hope.

Speaking of brothers, Thor had been absent for quite a long time now. I started to worry about him.


End file.
